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The St. Marys man accused of defrauding people and businesses in Elk County out of hundreds of thousands of dollars has been picked up near Charlotte, North Carolina.

47-year-old Richard Danz was apprehended Wednesday by the Matthews, Police Department and is being held in North Carolina awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.

Danz allegedly stole more than $561,000 from the Elk County Humane Society while he was the agency’s treasurer and accountant. He also allegedly deposited $9,000 into his own account instead of sending a check to a family, and deposited a $3,000 check from an insurance company into his own account instead of the repair shop that fixed his Mercedes Benz.

Danz is facing charges of theft by failure to required disposition of funds, theft of services, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception.

Molly Peacock, author of the book “The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72,” will visit Pitt-Bradford later this month as part of the 2012-2013 Spectrum series.

Peacock will speak at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. This event will be free and open to the public.

Formerly from Buffalo, N.Y., Peacock has published six titles of poetry and is also known for her original one-woman stage performance of “The Shimmering Verge,” a collection of monologues in poems, which she performed on tour from 2003-2007 in several cities, including New York City, Toronto and Chicago.

PHILADELPHIA — Home invasion impacts communities across Pennsylvania and state Sen. Mike Stack is working to curb the growth of violence with a new state law specifically targeting home invasion.

During a public hearing today in Philadelphia, the Senate Judiciary Committee addressed Stack’s legislation creating a specific criminal offense for a home invasion. The act would be defined as a person who knowingly enters another person’s home without permission and threatens or harms the person living in the home.

“A home invasion can be a homeowner’s worst nightmare and it can happen at any time.

It’s a crime that impacts communities all across Pennsylvania,” Stack said. “Home invasions have led to some horrific crimes, so if we can criminalize the act, we can place a fitting punishment on these particularly evil criminals and help our law enforcement do their job.”

Under Senate Bill 1002, a home invasion would be graded as a third-degree felony when it is committed without a weapon and would…

FRANKLIN, Venango County – A Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer (WCO) is investigating the case of a river otter attacking an angler around 2 p.m. on Sept. 11, at the junction of French Creek and the Allegheny River, just off Ninth Street, adjacent to the Riverfront Park in Franklin, Venango County.

Game Commission WCO Ronda Bimber is urging the public to notify her through the agency’s Northwest Region Office with any information about the situation. Calls can be placed to the Northwest Region office at 814-432-3187.

“This area is frequently used by the public, so we are encouraging park users to look out for any suspicious activity by river otters,” said WCO Bimber, who will be checking the area today. “At this point, it is not clear what initiated the attack.”

According to WCO Bimber, a 27-year-old Franklin man was wet wading and observed a river otter on the bike trail side of the river.

“The individual fishes the area often and said he didn’t find the presen…

In what Mayor Tom Riel called a rare occurrence, Bradford City Council was presented with a resolution for a change order to reduce the cost of a construction project.

OECD Executive Director Sara Andrews explained during Tuesday’s council meeting that they knew going into the Pine Street Pedestrian Bridge project that they could reduce costs and, with the help of contractor Bob Cummins, they were able to lower it by more than $17,000.

One of the biggest ways they reduced cost was getting boulders from the Bradford City Water Authority instead of going to Marienville to buy them and transport them. The water authority said the city could have boulders on their property, and would just have to pay the cost to transport them. That saved about $10,000, she said.

Cummins also suggested building the entrance steps on-site instead of having pre-fabricated steps brought in. They also scrapped the plan to have lights on the railings.

Sewer issues once again dominated a Foster Township supervisors meeting, but they also discussed the township’s hiring practices, the Foster Brook intersection and new Tasers for the police department.

During Monday’s meeting, township engineer Harold Bloomgren said the layout of the sewer line extension project is being finalized, and once it’s complete they will address issues concerning streams and wetlands.

Bloomgren also explained the formula for PENNVEST funding, which is based on a points system. The more points a project has, the higher it moves on the priority list. He said one of the most important factors is whether a project would create or retain jobs.

Another concern is “wildcat” lines flowing into waterways.

An October 18 meeting has been scheduled for residents to get more information about the sewer line extension project.

Bloomgren said while engineers were out working in the Kendall Avenue corridor, the question people asked of the…

An Austin man is in jail for allegedly stealing two ATVs earlier this month.

19-year-old Skylar Shaffer is accused of breaking into Terry LeFever’s camp on September 2 and taking cigarettes, chewing tobacco and alcohol before driving away on the stolen ATV. Later that morning he allegedly broke into Donald Torrey’s barn and stole another ATV.

The ATVs were found in a wooded area in Austin and have been returned to their owners.

Shaffer is charged with two counts each of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, theft, criminal trespass and receiving stolen property, all felonies. He is also charged with a misdemeanour count of corruption of minors. He’s in Potter County Jail unable to post $25,000 bail.

Police say their investigation is continuing and more arrests are pending.

Waide E. Nolf entered a plea of no contest today in McKean County Court and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

From the DA's office:

Nolf pleaded no contest to one count of first degree murder in the death of Tonya Haight, 24, of Bradford and one count of Involuntary Manslaughter in the death of Haight’s three week-old infant daughter. By pleading no contest, Nolf agreed that the Commonwealth could prove the facts alleged if the case went to trial.

On March 19, 2010, the Defendant, Waide Eugene Nolf was residing at 56 Pleasant Street, City of Bradford, McKean County. Also residing in the residence was Tonya Haight, her husband John J. Haight Jr, their infant daughter Tamara Haight (DOB 02/25/2010), other children of Tonya Haight, another adult couple and their children. Sometime between 0300 hours and 0900 hours, Nolf was in the bathroom located on the first floor of the residence. Tonya Haight entered the bathroom while Nolf was in it, angering the …

PA Precision Cast Parts owner Andrew Miller (center) gives Governor Tom Corbett (right), and Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford), a tour of the manufacturing facility, in Lebanon. The Governor was there to sign legislation that protecting small businesses from unnecessary red tape and costly mandates. PA Precision Cast Parts, Inc. is a recognized industry leader, employing over 175 Pennsylvanians and converting raw materials into quality cast components since 1983. To read the full text of the legislation, visit the General Assembly’s website at www.legis.state.pa.us. Corbett originally signed the bill on June 29.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today released a letter urging the Administration to take swifter action to prevent Asian carp from overtaking Lake Erie and rivers in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Asian carp are dangerously close to entering the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers and their tributaries, and samples taken this summer from Lake Erie have tested positive for Asian carp environmental DNA.

“Preventing Asian carp from reaching Pennsylvania waters is a necessary and important step to protecting the fishing and boating industry, as well as the health of our rivers and lakes,” said Senator Casey. “The millions of people who fish and boat in Pennsylvania’s waters each year and depend on the industries for jobs and economic well-being deserve swift federal action to stop this invasive fish before it invades our waterways.”

In his letter to White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Asian Carp Director John Goss, Senator Casey wrote that a decrease in native fis…

A suspicious package arrived at Beaver Stadium on Penn State’s University Park campus this afternoon, prompting police to stop all motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the area.

The order lasted less than 45 minutes, after police discovered that the parcel was "a legitimate package for delivery" and did not contain any hazardous materials, according to the unversity's website.

Calling the University of Pittsburgh a “world class research university” with an “unwavering commitment to excellence” and referring to its administrators as an "extraordinarily talented and beloved leadership team,” a newly released Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation report praised the University’s institution-wide system of assessment and reaffirmed its accreditation for a 10-year period, without qualification, the maximum permissible time for an extension of accreditation.

The accreditation also covers the university’s four regional campuses, including Bradford, which received high marks from the Middle States evaluators.

“Accreditation review team members met with administrators, faculty, staff and students during their on-site visit to Pitt-Bradford last spring,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford. “Team members made special note of our planning and evaluation processes. In my view, this is a clear refleca…